Coils of the Dragon
The Coils of the Dragon are part of the Great Work of the Ordo Dracul, whereby the Dragons transform themselves to transcend their vampiric state. Within the Ordo Dracul, one's progress in mastering the Coils is a primary determinate of one's rank and title. The Scales of the Dragon are derivates that expand upon individual Coils. Learning Coils Upon joining the Ordo Dracul, a vampire chooses a single Mystery. Each Mystery contains a Coil, which Mystery members commit themselves to researching and refining. At the pinnacle of every Coil, there is enlightenment, different for each Mystery. Achieving this will raise the vampire to an entirely new state of being. To date, this pinnacle has never been confirmed to exist, but the Dragons consider what they have achieved evidence that they can achieve much more. Even minor Coils of the Dragon are literal changes to the being of a Kindred. To making use of a Coil requires three steps: study, preparation, and the ritual. To begin study, a Slave, the lowest rank of Dragon, must find a master willing to teach her. This is likely to be a low ranking ancilla, or perhaps a learned neonate who knows the Coil. Study can take weeks, years, or decades depending on the ability of the student, the willingness of the master, and the inherent difficulty of the Coil itself. Once the student understands the elements of the Coil, the theory behind the change and the actual results, they must make preparations for altering themselves. The longer the preparation period is, in general, the better the chances of the student succeeding. Masters (ones who want their student to succeed) advise their students to alter their lifestyle to get ready for the Coil's effects. Generally changing ones' routine is helpful as Kindred are creatures of static existence which is the opposite of the Order's ideals. Changing minor things opens the mind and body to the greater change of the Coil. When the ritual, in whatever form it takes, finally comes, the vampire enters a trance-like state of near torpor where their mind is able to make the proper changes to their body. This is a very dangerous time for the student because they may make a mistake. Results of a mistake can range from simple failure to lasting physical damage, or even total loss of the mind, leaving nothing but a frenzying beast. Used Coils Common Coils in VTR 2 *'Coil of the Ascendant' , p.155: The Coil of the Ascendant strives to overcome the curse of the Sun, with even more dedication than the relative broad Coil of Banes. ** Surmounting the Daysleep: A Dragon can resist her daily slumber more easily as long as she benefits from the Blush of Life. ** The Warm Face: The Blush of Life lasts 24 hours instead of one scene. ** Conquer the Red Fear: The Dragon no longer risks Frenzy when faced with fire or sunlight. ** Peace with the Flame: The Dragon takes lethal, not aggravated damage from fire, as long as he benefits from the Blush of Life ** Sun's Forgotten Kiss: The Dragon can choose to expend more vitae to activate the Blush of Life. The amount of vitae is subtracted from his Blood Potency when faced with the sun. *'Coil of the Voivode' , p.158: The Coil of the Voivode seeks to harness the power of the Vinculum and similar dominating aspects of the Blood. ** Taste of Fealty: The addictivity of the Dragon's vitae rises ** Into the Fold: Beings that share the Vaulderie with the Dragon gain Blood Sympathy to him ** Call to Serve: The vitae of the Dragon becomes more potent, forming a two-step Vaulderie with the first drink of blood. ** Voivode Undisputed: Beings with Blood Sympathy to the Dragon no longer have an advantage against him ** The Vast Dynasty: The Dragon no longer loses a dot in Humanity when Embracing. *'Coil of the Wyrm' , p.157: The Coil of the Wyrm seeks to tame the Beast and make it subservient to the Dragon, similar to the Coil of the Beast. ** Stir the Beast: The Dragon can enter Frenzy voluntarily ** Beast's Hunger: The Dragon can add his dots in the Discipline to his Blood Potency while in Frenzy ** Leash the Beast: The Dragon can now ride a Frenzy without expending Willpower ** Beast's Power: When he enters frenzy, the Dragon may opt to forego all resistance, falling into a state that will not cease until the Beast is sated ** Eternal Frenzy: While he is in frenzy the Dragon will not fall into torpor even if all his Health levels are filled with lethal damage. Common Coils in VTR 1 *'Coil of Banes': Fire and sunlight stir the Beast and bring Final Death. A Dragon who undergone chrysalis through the Coil of Banes reduces these risks. ** Conquer the Red Fear: The Kindred is less vulnerable to Rötschreck from the triggers of fire and sunlight. ** Surmounting the Daysleep Through an effort of will, the Kindred may remain awake throughout the daylight hours. ** Sun's Forgotten Kiss: In twilight, the vampire may visit the sun with far less pain and injury. ** Mortal Burns: Fire causes lethal, not aggravated damage. *'Coil of Blood': The Hunger is an essential part of the vampiric condition, one which this Coil helps ameliorate.Core book, p.149 ** Blood Seeps Slowly: The Dragon requires less Vitae to arise. ** Blood of Beasts: The Dragon is no longer subject to the feeding restrictions of Blood Potency. ** Perspicacious Blood: The Dragon gains greater sustenance from each feeding. ** Orphaned Blood( , p.175: The Dragon becomes immune to blood ties, and can choose to have her blood read as any clan's blood she has tasted, or no clan at all. *'Coil of the Beast': The Beast seeks constantly to subsume the Man, and so the Dragon transforms themselves to master the Beast . ** Chastise the Beast: An act of will can now resists any Frenzy. ** Lure the Beast: The Dragon has become proficient at goading their beast and riding the wave. ** Exhaust the Beast: Even the Beast cannot rage constantly, and the Dragon has learned the limits of their Beast, letting it run free for a time so that it will remain quiet the rest of the night. ** Saddle the Beast: May ride the wave automatically without having to roll for frenzy. *'Coil of the Flesh': The body of a Kindred has changed in many ways from its mortal days, limiting their ability to interact with the kine. One transformed by this coil has reformed their body to a closer semblance of mortality. ** The Man Wakes: Torpor keeps the Dragon from the realm of mortals by stripping years from their experience. At this tier, the Kindred's Blood Potency is considered reduced for the purpose of determining the length of her torpid sleep. ** A Taste of Life: Through the power of their Vitae, the Kindred may invoke the blush of health and the ability to eat food. ** The Face of Man: Such a simple thing as the growth of hair and nails, markers of time the living take for granted. At this tier, the Kindred may use their Vitae to simulate this passage of time. Furthermore, they more easily leave traces in recordings and the like. ** The Bruise of Life: May heal bashing damage as a mortal would. *'Coil of the Soul': The degeneration to Draugr has many steps, and many losses along the way. This less common Coil addresses maintaining the spirit in the face of degeneration. ** Enliven the Face: Normally Kindred are limited in their interactions with mortals by their Humanity, a part of their innate connection to the subtle cues, connections, and social standards of the world. At this tier the Kindred has refined their connection to mortality for the purposes of social interactions. ** Salve the Mind: Along with the degeneration of the spirit often comes the derangement of the mind. Through an act of will, the vampire gains an extra chance to stave off the damage to the psyche that follows the loss of Humanity. ** Quiet the Soul: Once afflicted by the derangements of degeneration, further pursuit of the Great Work may be hampered. By focusing their will, the Dragon may quiet the derangements they have acquired since their Embrace. ** Free the Beast: The Dragon can commit one heinous act without worrying about degeneration by giving herself to the beast, which leaves the Dragon no memory of the event. The Coils of Slumbers An unusual rarity among mechanics in the World of Darkness, there are two distinct coils which share one name. These are the Coils of Slumbers; one is an elder technique, believed to be quite old , p.73; the other is known to be quite new, the work of a Dragon named Jacob Skinner , p.87. It is not impossible for two distinct things to accidentally gain the same name (such as the Xiao), though it is unlikely that any Dragon would choose to take both, as they are both meant to stave off the effects of torpor, and difficult to recognize as two separate coils. *'The Ancient Coil of Slumbers' ** Awakening the Beast: Allows the owner of this coil, upon torpor, to more easily awaken prematurely or voluntarily from the extended rest. ** Planned Emergence: Lets the user set a certain condition that, once he voluntarily enters torpor, if the condition is fulfilled, he will awaken before the full length of torpor. ** Slumber's Conservation: Slows the automatic consumption of Vitae while in torpor, allowing the Dragon to awaken without going into a feeding frenzy. *'Skinner's Coil of Slumbers' ** The Sleep of Early Years: Shortens the duration of torpor, allowing it to be calculated as though the Kindred possesses 2 extra dots of Humanity. ** Denial of Morpheus: Premature awakening is normally only possible during voluntary torpor, but, with this coil, the user may attempt to awaken prematurely from involuntary torpor. ** Stir the Blood: Shortens the duration of torpor even more, as if the Dragon has only half the blood potency he actually possesses. Apocryphal and Uncommon Coils Apocryphal and Uncommon in VTR 2 *'Coil of Zirnitra' , p.200: The Coil of Zirnitra allows a Dragon to regain supernatural merits lost during the Embrace or learn some if he has the inherent ability. ** Opening the Third Eye: Become able to learn supernatural merits again. Every failure during a roll with the Merit is considered dramatic ** Unleash the Mind: Spend Willpower to activate Supernatural Merits without the normal limitation of Willpower in a turn ** Embolden Potential: Use your vitae to enhance your Merits ** Dragon's Breath: Failures are no longer automatically dramatic ** Ascendancy: Are no longer limited in the number of supernatural merits you may possess *'Coil of Živa' , p.201: The Coil of Živa strives to deny the curse of vampirism and cling to their humanity. Because of this, they are regarded as heretics by the main Order. ** Denying the Bane: Lessen the effects of a Bane. ** Buttress the Soul: Spend vitae to fight against Detachment ** Enliven the Anima: Avoid the psychological repercussions of Detachment ** Embracing the Banes: Make yourself able to sustain a number of Banes equal to your Willpower dots ** Shedding the Beast’s Skin: Temporarily become mortal again Apocryphal and Uncommon in VTR 1 *'Anoushka's Ladder': It can be very difficult for Kindred to retain their Humanity, flawed as they are. This coil specifically relates to staying at the top of the Humanity ladder; it cannot be used below Humanity 8 , p.176. ** Rise Above Thirst: Allows a vampire of Humanity 8 or higher to spend less Vitae to rise in the evening; it must be spent only once per week, rather than once per day. ** Divorce the Clan: Nullifies both clan and bloodline weaknesses for those of Humanity 9 or higher; however, should the user prove themselves to be a member of their clan or bloodline by using disciplines, the weakness returns for one day and one night. ** Open the Cage: Carries the Beast away from a Dragon of Humanity 10 or higher, allowing them to ignore Frenzy in all instances. *'Way of the Locust': Some Dragons seek to overcome the vampiric curses no matter what the cost; the Way of the Locust takes this to extremes, masking the nature of the user by covering their soul with the diablerized soul of a human , p.176-177. ** Soul Mask: The human's soul provides a normal aura for the Locust, and their reflection and appearance in pictures or film restores to normal. ** Marrow of the Spirit: Imbues the Locust with a semblance of the person they diablerized, becoming eerily like how that person was in life; this allows the user to more effectively socialize with those the person knew. ** Echo of the Soul: The Locust knows every piece of information the person knew, be it small details about their life, or important passwords and plans, though aspects as complex as skills and abilities cannot be mimicked. Treasures of the Mae Ji The Sakadagami, also known as the Children of the Naga, are a covenant-like group of Kindred established centuries ago in Thailand. They, like the Ordo Dracul, seek to escape their condition, and, as a result, have developed a variant of the Coils known as the Treasures of the Mae Ji. Three of these Treasures are identical to existing Coils, but one is unique to the Sakadagami. Whether other Coils may be taken as Treasures, or Upadana may be taken as a Coil, is up to the Storyteller's discretion ,p.126-129. *'Tahna' or Blood Thirst: Same as the Coil of Blood *'Anicca' or Setting Back Impermanence: Same as the Coil of Banes *'Dukkha' or Suffering the Beast: Same as the Coil of the Beast *'Upadana' or Loose the Bonds of Attachment ** Mind like an Open Sore: By spending a point of Willpower, the Sakadagami's blood causes no addiction, and she receives a bonus towards avoiding blood addiction from others. ** Mind Like a Flash of Lightning: Greatly reduces the duration of Vinculi that the player causes and is subjected to, down to a rate of one month per step. ** Mind Like a Diamond: Masks the user's bloodline and clan, making it impossible to discern that information from their blood alone. References Category:Vampire: The Requiem glossary Category:Discipline (VTR)